General News of Tuesday, 9 April 2013
Source: peacefmonline
Managing Editor of the Daily Searchlight, Ken Agyei Kuranchie, has called on President John Mahama to reveal the amount of money paid him as ex-gratia to the nation.
Ken Kuranchie speaking on Oman FM Monday, asked the president to be transparent about his payment of ex-gratia.
The issue of payment of ex-gratia to government officials, particularly Members of Parliament (MPs), has been rife in Ghana’s political discourse.
Several critics have lambasted government for rushing to meet the demands of the MPs and so, doled out GHS 47m to all sitting members and those who lost their seats after the general elections last year.
The payments come on the back of numerous protests by the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) which has embarked on a strike action following its inability to reach a consensus with the government over their market premium since January 2012, and other industrial actions by some public servants.
The newspaper editor speaking in relation to the recent development emphasised that it is high time the president declared the exact amount he also receives as ex-gratia.
He also condemned the former MP for Asokwa, Maxwell Kofi Jumah for making disparaging remarks about public sector workers.
To him, his (Kofi Jumah) comments were not in good taste and so, it was unnecessary for him to compare the work of MPs to that of the public servants.
Mr Jumah, a couple of days ago denigrated the work of teachers, warning them to stop clamouring about their certificates since they play second fiddle to parliamentarians in the country.
He has however rendered an apology to the teachers.